Injured Harbhajan likely to miss rest of Ranji season

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, is likely to miss the rest of the Ranji Trophy group stages with an injury to his left shin. Harbhajan had been ruled out of Punjab's game against Railways, from which they took three points, and is now likely to be out for the rest of the year. The injury is suspected to be a recurrence of an old problem with his leg; he felt pain during Punjab's game against Saurashtra and is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

The injury is another in a series of blows for Harbhajan: after a disappointing tour of England during which he took two wickets in the first two Tests before returning due to a strain in his abdomen, he was left out of India's squads for the home ODI series against England, the Tests and one-dayers against West Indies and the Tests on the tour of Australia.

His performance in the Ranji Trophy was also disappointing - he took two wickets in three matches - and he will now face a wait before he can return to action and try to regain his spot in the India side.

Punjab named Uday Kaul as captain for the Railways game in the absence of Harbhajan. They are currently fourth in Group A of the Elite division with three games to play. Their next match is against Rajasthan from December 6.